A Budding Love
by Special Agent Baker
Summary: A marine is killed by a drug dealing Russian and the team needs to stop him. But will there also be some romance? A continuation to 'New Beginnings'.
1. Chapter 1

**A Budding Love NCIS LA Fanfic **

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the NCIS LA characters, or any of Shane Brennan's ideas.

A/N: This is a continuation from my other story, "New Beginnings" I hope you enjoy it, and I recommend that you read the other story first, so that this one might make more sense.

**CHAPTER 1**

Yes, the team at the OSP unit in Los Angeles, California had another case. It was barely four days since their last case with their new team member, Lara Baker.

The team all put down their bags, and headed upstairs, with Hetty slowly following up the rear.

The two geeks awaited them, ready to bring up any necessary info.

"What do you have for me?" Callen asked as he came through the doors into the OPS centre.

"I've got some witty comments and info on a dead Navy SEAL for you." Eric said as he got up off of his favourite chair.

Callen glared at him and answered, "I'll take the SEAL thanks."

"Right." Eric said as he turned back to the big screen, very disappointed that Callen didn't appreciate his joke.

"Our victim is twenty-seven year old Joshua De La Garza. He lives in an apartment in LA with his wife, and three year old daughter Haley. His body was found this morning in an alley way on Hollywood Boulevard." Eric said as he brought up some crime scene photos.

"Great, looks like we're going to Hollywood." Callen announced.

"But there is something weird." Nell added, "It looks like our guy Joshua was found in a popular place for dealing drugs."

"Well, was he using drugs?" Callen asked with a confused look on his face.

"The coroner says that he didn't find any traces of drugs in his system, but we're not 100% sure whether he used drugs or not." Nell added.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to go and talk to the wife about Mr De La Garza's reasons for being there." Callen said, as he turned to his team.

"OK, I've got to get used to this, so if I forget to mention you Lara please forgive me." Callen said.

"No problem Agent Callen." Lara replied with a little smile.

"Good. OK, so Lara and Deeks, you two will go to the crime scene, Sam and Kensi, you guys will come with me to question the wife." Callen said, looking at each person in turn as he did so.

"Cool." Deeks and Lara said in unison.

"Alright, let's head out team." Callen said as he led his team out the door.

"Agent Callen," Hetty began as she came in front of the group.

"Hopefully you don't have another person for me to look after?" Callen asked with one of his signature smirks.

"I was going to say be careful." Hetty said.

"Oh, thanks Hetty, we will." Callen said with a confused look on his face.

The petite woman gave a little smile, and headed towards her office.

The team headed for the garage, agreed on a rendezvous and went to their duties.

Deeks and Lara had just arrived at the crime scene. They'd shown their badges, and went over to some guys taking notes, and gathering evidence.

"Hey, you must be the new agent at NCIS." A brunette with brown eyes came over to the two.

"Yeah I'm Agent Lara Baker, and this is…" but Lara was interrupted.

"Oh, I know who he is. I work for LAPD. My name is Max." Max said as he kissed Lara's hand, which got a disapproving glair from Deeks.

"Uh, nice to meet you." Lara said, giving Max a sort of uncomfortable smile.

"What info do you have?" Deeks asked, he just wanted to get to the point.

"Well, we know that he was killed some time around ten o'clock last night." Max said looking at Lara the entire time, as if Deeks didn't even exist.

"Was anything missing?" Lara asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not that we can tell. His wallet, car keys, and personal info such as ID were all still there." Max said as he glanced at the body next to him.

"Alright, well…" Lara began, but was interrupted by Deeks, who was now very eager to move on.

"We'll see you around." Deeks said, as he put a hand behind Lara's back, and led her towards the victim's car.

"See ya Marty, goodbye Lara." Max said smirking.

"Bye." Deeks and Lara said in unison.

"Thanks, kinda. He was starting to creep me out." Lara said to Deeks, with a disgusted look, as she remembered Max kissing her hand.

"No problem. I knew I never liked that guy." Deeks said.

The two were so engrossed in their conversation, that they didn't even realise that Deeks still had his hand on the small of Lara's back.

As they approached the car, a friend of Deeks' (one of the only ones at LAPD) said, "Hey Deeks, I see you already have a new girlfriend."

"What?" Lara and Deeks both asked at the same time, with a confused expression on their faces.

"Yeah, I just figured the way you two are walking together that you were dating." Dylan replied, he too now had a confused expression.

Lara and Deeks suddenly realised what he was talking about, and quickly jumped apart.

"No, we're just partners man." Deeks said, wishing that the smile on his face would disappear.

"Yeah, just partners." Lara said, feeling all the heat rush to her face. _**Ugh, why do you have to blush so easily? **_Lara thought.

"So what do you have for us Dylan?" Deeks asked as he came to stand next to his buddy.

"Well, I only just started searching the car, so not much yet." Dylan said, looking at Deeks, "But if you and your _**partner**_ grab a pair of gloves you can help me look." Dylan added, making quotation marks with his fingers to emphasise the word partner.

Deeks looked at his buddy with a grin and went over to where Lara was standing to grab a pair of gloves from the kit.

"How do you know him, if you don't mind my asking?" Lara asked, as she took a pair of gloves from Deeks.

"Oh, Dylan? He's one of my only friends at LAPD." Deeks said as he put on his gloves.

"Oh." Lara said as she followed Deeks to the victim's car.

They opened the trunk, the bonnet, the cubby hole, and any other compartments in the car, and found… nothing.

"Well, I guess there's nothing here." Lara said as she leaned against the now closed bonnet of the car.

"Yup." Deeks said as he sat down next to her.

At that moment Lara's phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID, it read, _**Agent Callen**_.

She picked up the phone and put it on loud speaker.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey." Came Callen's reply through the speakers of the phone.

"Did you guys get any new info?" Lara asked as she leaned in closer to the phone.

"No, apparently the husband didn't do drugs, but was assigned on an undercover case to try and stop some drug dealers." Callen said, a little out of breath at the end.

"And they found out who he was and took him out." Deeks said, making himself a part of this conversation.

"Maybe, but we don't know for sure." Callen replied.

"So basically we don't have any leads." Lara stated with a sigh.

"Yup." Deeks agreed, more to himself than with the group.

"So, did you guys find anything?" Callen asked, wondering how things had been going on Lara and Deeks' side.

"Well, not really. It looks like nothing was missing from the body." Lara said, as she repositioned her arm, so that holding the phone would be a little bit more comfortable.

"And we searched the entire car, and there was nothing there either." Deeks added, as he shifted a little closer to Lara's side.

"Well I guess we'll see you guys back at NCIS." Callen said.

"Yeah we'll see you at NCIS." Lara said as she hung up the phone, and gracefully hopped off of the bonnet of the victim's car.

Deeks, wasn't so graceful, he landed next to Lara with a thud.

They took off their rubber gloves, and headed over to Dylan.

"See ya man." Deeks said as he gave his friend a hi-five.

"Later dude and dude are you sure…" Dylan said gesturing towards Lara.

"Yes, we're just partners." Deeks said, now a little fed up with the topic.

"I'm just saying man, she's hot." Dylan said, trying to defend his cause.

"Yeah, well, she and I have shared a kiss, but…" Deeks began, but was interrupted by his buddy.

"What, dude, seriously?" Dylan asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Shh man!" Deeks began, trying to keep his friends voice down. "Yeah, but it was only to thank me for saving her life." Deeks added with a disappointed look on his face.

"Well, man if I know you, and I do, you have to ask her out." Dylan said, patting his buddy's shoulder.

"Yeah, well I'll tell you if I get that far, but she's kinda off limits." Deeks said, glancing at Lara for a brief moment.

"Whatever man," Dylan began, patting his buddy on the back. "See ya dude." He added formally shaking his friend's hand.

"See ya." Deeks said.

Deeks went over to Lara who was now leaning against the passenger side door.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Lara asked now a little curious.

"Oh, nothing, just guy stuff." Deeks said, but he couldn't help the grin that spread across his features.

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me." Lara said as she got into the car.

"Whatever." Deeks said with a smirk as he got into the driver's side of the car.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Budding Love NCIS LA Fanfic **

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the NCIS LA characters, or any of Shane Brennan's ideas.

A/N: Here's chapter 2, please read and review.

**Chapter 2**

Deeks and Lara arrived back at NCIS, and as soon as they walked into the bullpen, what they saw surprised them… it was empty?

"Hey, where is everybody?" Deeks asked as he looked around.

"Yeah, I thought they might be back by now." Lara said as she went over to her desk.

"The others are upstairs." Hetty said as she came out of nowhere.

The two jumped at the sound of the petite woman's voice.

"Thanks Hetty." Deeks answered with a confused expression.

The small woman gave a nod and turned to head back to her office.

"How does she do that?" Deeks asked.

"I heard that Mr Deeks." Hetty said which made Deeks a little afraid.

The two headed upstairs, to find the whole team waiting for them.

"Look who decided to show up." Sam said as everyone turned to look at the two walking through the door.

At that moment Deeks and Lara were glad that it was too dark for anyone to see their glowing, fiery cheeks.

"Sorry we're late." Deeks said as he and Lara came to stand by the table in the centre of the room.

"No problem." Callen said, giving hid friend a disapproving look for what he had said to Lara and Deeks, to which Sam replied with a shrug in a form of surrender.

"So, if we're all ready I can play the footage from a nearby security camera." Eric said, taking a brief glance around the room.

The congregation watched the scene, all except for Lara and Kensi, with straight faces.

"So, as you can see, Josh was probably on an undercover Op. when these guys find out who he really is, and beat him to death." Eric said giving the details as the scene played out.

"Eric, can we get a clear image of any of the faces?" Callen asked, breaking the silence.

"Sorry, I've already tried, with no luck." Eric said looking a little apologetic.

"Someone could always go undercover." Nell said, giving the team leader an idea.

"Nell, you're a genius." Callen said as he raised his hands, and walked out the door, leaving his team to look at each other with confused looks.

At once the entire team was following Callen down the stairs, all wanting to ask the same question.

"Callen, what's your plan?" Kensi asked as she stepped in front of Callen.

"Easy, I'm going to go undercover, while the rest of you cover my back." Callen said as he grabbed his gun out of his desk drawer.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sam began, "G, you've already put yourself in danger once, less than twenty-four hours ago. Let someone else go undercover."

Callen's look suddenly became very serious and he said, "Who's gonna go undercover?"

Everyone turned to the newbie and the liaison.

"Wait a second, I'm not going undercover." Deeks said with a worried expression on his face.

"Wait, Lara isn't going undercover either." Callen said a look of utter concern on his face.

Everybody in the tiny space immediately started arguing.

They suddenly heard a piercing whistle, and immediately looked towards the OPS centre.

But when they saw no one standing on the balcony, they were a little surprised, until they heard the source of the whistle speak.

"Guys, I think I get to choose what I do." Lara said, raising her voice a little.

"She's right guys. What do you want to do?" Callen asked, hoping the answer would be to his liking.

"I want to go undercover." Lara said plainly.

"Well I'm not going to let you go in alone." Callen said, obviously trying to protect his new team member.

Lara sighed, and Deeks suddenly spoke up, "I'll go with her." He said.

"Well, I'll take that as the matter being solved." Hetty said from where she was standing watching the whole scenario.

The team all jumped out of their skins at the sound of Hetty's voice.

"Why don't you two come with me, and I'll get your wardrobe and IDs ready." Hetty said, pointing to Lara and Deeks.

"OK." They both replied at once, and followed Hetty, leaving the rest of the team in silence.

When Lara and Deeks came out of Hetty's office, they looked completely different.

Lara had a beautiful, delicate pink dress that reached her knees, and stunning black heels, (her own touch to add a little punk) and her hair in a long plaited pony tail hanging on her shoulder.

Deeks was wearing a smart suit with a navy tie that made his eyes even more irresistible, and smart black sneakers, that he chose because he thought they would be more comfortable if the need arose to run.

The team stood there speechless. Everyone couldn't believe that Lara and Deeks would, or even could look so cute together.

"Wow, you guys clean up pretty nicely." Callen said coming over to the two.

"Thanks." They both replied, Lara blushing a little.

"Here are your IDs." Eric said as he handed Lara and Deeks a driver's license, and ID card to Deeks.

"Thanks." Deeks said as he took the two sets of info, and handed Lara hers.

"Jeremy and Rachel Levi." Deeks read aloud. "Wait, but then that means that we have to pose as a married couple." He suddenly realised.

"Yeah, that's what Hetty told me to type." Eric replied, which made the two partners turn to Hetty.

"I thought that you two be more believable as a couple rather than siblings or friends." Hetty plainly replied.

"Alright you two," Callen began, "do you have your weapons in a concealed place on your person?"

"Yup." They both replied in unison.

"Great, well then let's make sure we've got everything right." Callen said. "Kensi will have her sniper in position on the roof of nearby building, and Sam and I will be in different positions at either end of the alleyway."

"Check." Deeks said.

"Are you ready?" Callen asked, more a question for Lara than Deeks.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Lara replied.

"OK, then let's head out." Callen said.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Budding Love NCIS LA Fanfic **

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the NCIS LA characters, or any of Shane Brennan's ideas.

A/N: Please enjoy even though this story is a VERY short story.

Chapter 3

The team had arrived, and were in position. Everyone had nerves, and worries of anything going wrong.

Deeks and Lara got out of the car, and started making their way towards the alley.

Deeks took a glance at Lara, and noticed that she was shaking like a leaf. He knew that it wasn't climate related, because it had been so hot in LA lately.

Deeks tentatively reached out and grabbed Lara's hand and said, "Don't worry, I'm right here."

"Thanks." She replied, a tinge of pink spreading across her cheeks.

They entered the alley, and saw a tent that was filled with hustle and bustle. In the tent was a very famous business man, known for his stealthy drug sales.

Lara and Deeks approached the tent, and were suddenly met by a bunch of body guards, shouting for their boss in Russian, little did they know, both Lara and Callen, (who was listening through the ear piece) both spoke fluent Russian.

Suddenly the great man himself emerged from the tent wearing an Armani suit. The boss came over to the two, who were still holding hands, Lara now shaking more than ever.

"ID please." The big man said.

Lara and Deeks immediately took out their (fake) IDs, and handed them to the boss.

"Your names are Rachel and Jeremy Levi." The boss said. "My name is Ivan Kulikov. How did you come to be here, and if on purpose, why?" Mr Kulikov asked with a serious look.

"We heard from a buddy of ours that you deal drugs, and we're looking for a little excitement." Deeks said, trying to sell his case.

"I see. You two are a married couple, no?" He asked with his Russian accent.

"Yes, that's right." Deeks answered.

"I see." He said, looking briefly over the two. "Search them." He said in Russian, which Lara and Callen understood clearly.

Two body guards suddenly came up to a now frightened Lara and Deeks, and did a frisk search.

But it seemed that they didn't find anything interesting. They went over to their boss, and one of the men said, "They're clean." In Russian.

"Come this way." Mr Kulikov said, now with a pleasant smile, as he led them towards the tent.

The two followed him into the tent, to find a table laden with various types of drugs.

"Looks like you have quite a collection." Deeks said, as he stood next to the table, now holding Lara's hand again.

"Yes, it is all imported. Smuggled across the border by a close friend of mine." Mr Kulikov said as he picked up a packet of drugs.

"If you don't mind my asking, who is your friend who informed you of my business?" Mr Kulikov asked with an inquiring look on his face.

Deeks briefly glanced in Lara's direction, and squeezed her hand, as if signalling to get ready for action. "Yeah, our friend is, or rather, was Joshua De La Garza." Deeks said.

Mr Kulikov's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted in Russian, "Get them!"

Lara was grabbed from behind, but quickly freed herself from the giant ogre's grasp, at the same time Deeks punched another of the henchman right in the nose.

The two partners shared a brief glance, and Deeks grabbed Lara from behind, and spun her in a circle, knocking five henchmen out in a row.

As soon as Deeks put Lara down, they started to pursue the boss, who had taken off down the alley.

At the end of the alley, there was an old abandoned building. Lara and Deeks both pulled out their guns, and slowly, silently went in.

They checked every room in the building, except for one. As soon as Lara's back was turned on the room they hadn't checked, someone grabbed her from behind, and put a knife to her throat, causing her to drop her gun, and scream.

The moment Deeks heard Lara scream he turned, gun raised, to face the man holding a knife to Lara's throat.

"You cannot shoot me, because then you'll hit your pretty little girlfriend." Kulikov said, tightening his grip on Lara a little.

Deeks stood there speechless, not daring to lower his weapon, or speak a word, as he too tightened his grip on his weapon.

"It was too bad I had to kill your friend, and now I'm going to kill your wife." Kulikov said which made Lara shed one single tear.

Before anybody knew what had happened, a shot was fired from somewhere up above, and Kulikov's lifeless body fell to the floor.

"Bull's-eye." Kensi said into her ear- piece.

Deeks lowered his weapon, and immediately grabbed Lara, smothering her in his arms as she cried.

After an ambulance had arrived to tend to the wounded henchmen, and take the body away, Lara was sitting on the bonnet of Deeks' car, thinking.

"Hey," Deeks said as he came over and sat next to her. He had taken off his tie and coat, but still looked handsome as ever.

"Hey," Lara said, trying to smile, but still appearing very shaken.

"Are you OK?" Deeks asked as he put an arm around Lara's shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm a lot better now." Lara replied as she rested her head against Deeks' shoulder.

"Good." Deeks said, enjoying the intimate form of contact while it lasted.

"Thank you." Lara said as she closed her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Deeks asked, now a little puzzled.

"For being there for me." Lara said as she lifted her head to look into Deeks' amazing eyes.

"I'll always be there for you." Deeks said, barely above a whisper.

The two started leaning closer and closer, until their faces were inches apart.

Eventually their lips met, and a spark ran through both of them, just as it had the previous evening when Deeks had saved Lara's life.

It was a heart stopping moment, kinda like the ones you see in movies, but it lasted scarcely a minute.

When the two broke apart, they looked into each other's eyes, and knew that it was magic.

"Wow, that was even better than last night." Deeks said, a grin spreading across his features.

Lara laughed, and hit him on the chest playfully.

"So, I guess this means we're kinda together now huh?" Lara asked as she laced their fingers together.

"Only if you want us to be." Deeks said as he rested his head against Lara's.

"I do." Lara said as she looked into Deeks' eyes.

"Good." Deeks said as he captured her lips in another passionate kiss.

After the two had broken apart they hopped off of the bonnet of Deeks' car, and walked back to the team holding hands, but standing close enough together so that it wasn't visible to the others.

"Hey guys, why don't we go back to NCIS for a cup of coffee, and some case closed pizza?" Callen suggested, to which the team replied with a big, "Yes!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A Budding Love NCIS LA Fanfic **

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the NCIS LA characters, or any of Shane Brennan's ideas.

A/N: Here's the last chapter, please let me know what you think, it would really mean a lot as I am new to fanfiction.

Chapter 4

Once the team arrived back at NCIS, they shared a coffee and some pizza.

After everyone had finished drinking their beverages, and the three pizza boxes were empty, everyone headed home.

Lara and Deeks went back to Lara's apartment, where they had a serious talk.

"OK, so because it's against the rules, we're not going to tell anyone right?" Deeks asked Lara as he twirled a piece of her hair in his fingers.

"Right." Lara said as she rested against Deeks' chest, listening to him breathing in and out.

"Cool." Deeks said.

"I just have one rule though." Lara said as she sat up to look at Deeks.

"Sure, what's that?" Deeks asked, seeing that his girlfriend, _**oh it felt so good to say that**_, was being very serious.

"Well, because of my religion, I believe that I should stay pure until marriage, so our relationship won't be, you know." Lara said, as she looked into Deeks' eyes.

"I totally and completely understand." Deeks said as he pulled Lara into his chest.

"Good." Lara said, letting out a little giggle.

"Awesome." Deeks said.

So the two spent the rest of the evening watching TV, and just being with each other. Deeks stayed the night at Lara's house, (although they didn't do anything extra curricular) and had to rush when they had another case, because he had to get home, get dressed, and try and arrive after Lara, because they were keeping their love a secret.

**The End**


End file.
